Alfreda "Alfy" Chippendale (née Schoolcraft; 1842 – November 9, 1887) was an American stage
actress
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...
who made appearances in the United States and England.
Early life
Born Alfreda Schoolcraft in
, into a family of actors and artists. She was reportedly the grandniece of President
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...
through her mother, Mathilda Schoolcraft.
Her father, Henry R. Schoolcraft was an actor who appeared in shows in
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...
, and at Crisp's Gaiety Theater in New Orleans and who despite his death in 1854, saw to it that his son
Luke Schoolcraft and his daughters Jane and Alfreda all pursued careers in theater. She and Jane performed sketches as a pair in local variety theater.
Alfreda married William B. Chippendale, scion of a famous English acting family headed by
William Henry Chippendale
William Henry Chippendale (14 August 1801 – 3 January 1888) was an English actor, known in particular for his portrayal of old men.
Life
He was born in Somers Town, London, on 14 Aug. 1801, and received some education at the high school, ...
about 1860. Her husband joined the
Confederate Army
The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
as
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank.
Australia
The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...
of the
Louisiana 30th Infantry. He died in 1864 at the
Battle of Ezra Church near
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
.
Acting career
Even as her husband was serving in the Confederate Army, Alfreda was appearing on the Northern stage. She appeared at the
Winter Garden
A winter garden is a kind of garden maintained in wintertime.
History
The origin of the winter garden dates back to the 17th to 19th centuries where European nobility would construct large conservatories that would house tropical and subtro ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
as Nanette in the
burlesque
A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects. ''Camille'' in June 1863. She also appeared as Sally in ''The Eton Boy'' that same season before appearing at the
Griswold Opera House in
Troy, New York
Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany a ...
, in 1864–65. Chippendale appeared in
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
, in 1865 before returning to New Orleans in 1866.
In the early 1870s, Chippendale was traveling with the Irwin Selden Combination when she married its proprietor William Calder on December 8, 1872, in
St. Charles County, Missouri. She went on to appear as Topsy in ''
Uncle Tom's Cabin
''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U. ...
'' in New York City and such was the acclaim that she and her husband were engaged to appear on stage in England in the same roles. They sailed on August 3, 1878, and subsequently they appeared in London in ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' and ''
Rip Van Winkle
"Rip Van Winkle" is a short story by the American author Washington Irving, first published in 1819. It follows a Dutch-American villager in colonial America named Rip Van Winkle who meets mysterious Dutchmen, imbibes their liquor and falls aslee ...
''. Later, Chippendale and Calder performed in ''The White Slave'' and ''The Shadows of a Great City''.
Death
Alfy Chippendale died in
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
on November 9, 1887.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chippendale, Alfreda
1842 births
1887 deaths
Date of birth unknown
19th-century American actresses
American stage actresses
Actresses from New Orleans
American expatriate actresses in the United Kingdom